"If we changed someone in office who [was elected] according to constitutional legitimacy – well, there will people or opponents opposing the new president too, and a week or a month later, they will ask him to step down," Morsi told the London based newspaper.

"There is no room for any talk against this constitutional legitimacy,” he added. “There can be demonstrations and people expressing their opinions. But what's critical in all this is the adoption and application of the constitution. This is the critical point."

The protesters' demand to oust the one-year president has led to an increase in violence throughout Egypt. Recently, American student Andrew Pochter, 21, was stabbed to death while shooting pictures of unrest in the port city of Alexandria. He was in Egypt studying Arabic.

"As we understand it, he was witnessing the protest as a bystander and was stabbed by a protester," Pochter's family said in a statement. "He went to Egypt because he cared profoundly about the Middle East, and he planned to live and work there in the pursuit of peace and understanding."